


The Grand Solution

by Toaverse



Category: Onward (2020)
Genre: Adoption, Angst, Colt Bronco is a good dad, Custody Arrangements, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hugs, Ian Lightfoot Needs a Hug, Laurel died in the final battle, Nightmares, Step-parents, T rating for mention of burning to death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:42:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24703237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toaverse/pseuds/Toaverse
Summary: The Lightfoot brothers knew that defeating the Stone Dragon would leave them with much work, but having lost their mother made it so much worse for them.Luckily, Colt is there to help them. But when it’s highly time, the centaur decides to take legal action, fighting for custody of the two boys.
Relationships: Barley Lightfoot & Colt Bronco, Colt Bronco & Iandore “Ian” Lightfoot
Comments: 8
Kudos: 47





	1. The Grand Solution

**Author's Note:**

> Time to paint Colt in a good light, shall we? :)
> 
> Oh, and if you see a; ‘~•~‘, that means there’s a flashback, since I’m pasting this from my notes.
> 
> Enjoy!

The office of the social service worker looks quite boring in Colt and Barley’s eyes, and almost even sleep-inducing to Ian.

They are sitting in front of a desk in the office of a not-yet-arrived social service worker, who will interview Colt about his background before deciding to accept his bid for custody of the Lightfoot brothers.

Heck, the three of them almost can’t believe that something like this is happening. Well, not if Laurel was still alive...

They lost her in the battle of The Stone Dragon, when she was trying to plug the Curse Crusher into the beast’s core. Colt, Ian and Barley can still remember hearing her agonizing screams while she’s slowly burning in the dragon’s spewed flames. 

There was no time to grieve, as Colt had to go back to work immediately, Barley was busy helping his little brother re-build the destroyed buildings, and Ian had to go to school AND re-build all the buildings from the ground up, which was, and still is, absolutely wrecking him.

The nights after the battle weren’t any better, as all three of them, especially Ian, got nightmares of Laurel’s death. They sometimes get flashbacks of it when it’s day. But despite all of that, Colt held himself strong, and promised that he’ll look after his stepsons.

It went like this for a week, until child services got on Colt’s tail.

Apparently, Corey called child services to inform them about the Lightfoot family’s current situation. Not to get rid of the centaur of cours, but rather to discuss the options. Heck, her friend’s two teenage sons, who Corey met in her previous tarven, are practically orphaned, and Colt is probably the closest creature to be able to fight for custody of the two boys, since he was their mother’s boyfriend after all.

So thanks to Corey, the centaur and the two elves are sitting in front of a freaking social service worker.

Colt can’t really blame The Manticore for doing that, all though he would’ve appreciated it if she had called him about it beforehand. He hadn’t even thought about Ian and Barley being basically orphaned, and him not being their legal guardian despite living and providing for them in the same house. Once a different social service worker said that at least Ian is threatened to be put up for adoption or be thrown into foster care, that’s when Colt realized that fighting for custody of the two boys really needs to be addressed.

While the social service worker hasn’t even arrived yet, Colt’s mind drifts off to remember the first time he addressed the topic.

~•~

“You are gonna what?!” Barley asked, mentally dropping his jaw to the floor out of disbelief.

Colt slowly nodded his head, confirming that he’s going through with it. “Social services came to our door yesterday, and they basically said that Ian is gonna be put up for adoption or foster care if we don’t act fast enough.”

The centaur had sat the elf brothers down at the kitchen table to explain the events of yesterday and to discuss the solution to it, Ian and Barley sitting on one side while Colt sits across from them.

“Look Colt, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, I really do. But why can’t I just do it?” The oldest brother asked. “I’m over 18, and it’s not like I’ve never taken care of Ian before.”

“Barley...” the centaur gives the oldest Lightfoot a sympathetic look, completely understanding him. “You’ll start collage after your gap year is over, as well as most likely having a job that requires a high school diploma. Such an income is far from enough to pay finances AND providing for both yourself and Ian, especially if you go to school in the meantime.”

Barley stayed silent for a moment, slowly realizing that he couldn’t win this. But despite realizing this, he had one question loomed in his mind.

“W-what about me?” The 19 year old asked, confusion and what felt like a millions of questions filling his mind. Is it even possible to take custody of someone over the age of 18?

“The law of Yore says that you can adopt or fight custody for a child until they reach the age of 21.” Colt answers, reassuring his oldest stepson a bit. “I’m not leaving you out, don’t worry.”

Translation: “I’m gonna adopt you too.”

It brought a smile to Barley’s face, gaining more respect for the centaur.

“Thanks...” the 19 year old said. “...for not leaving us to fend for ourselves.”

Colt gives a “You’re welcome.” smile, appreciating the thankfulness of the oldest Lightfoot.

Barley then looks at Ian, expecting for him to give his 2 cents as well, but the 16 year old had fallen asleep yet again.

God, this week absolutely destroyed him.

Not only does Ian have to re-build all the buildings with magic again, but he also has (some sort of) school and homework to do on weekdays. Not to mention his hurt leg from the battle that he really shouldn’t be standing on...

Colt and Barley are just hoping that he doesn’t get a burn-out any time soon.

“Well, time to tuck this one in.” The 19 year old said jokingly, yet his expression had a glimpse of worry. Barley carefully scooped Ian up in his arms, and begun making his way to the stairs.

“Oh, and come back down when you’re done, ‘cause you’re gonna need a job soon.” Colt said, Barley being on almost half the stairs. The 19 year old responded with a quick salute, before continuing his way to upstairs.

The centaur looked at the stairs for a few more seconds, before grabbing his phone and dialed the social service’s phone number.

~•~

“Good morning Mr. Bronco.” The sentence snaps Colt out of his thoughts, before looking at the social service worker. He stands up to shake hands with her, like he always does. She appears to be a cyclops in her early fifties. “I’m Tulmea Windeye. I’ll be attending your case. Let’s begin.”

The female cyclops sits down, and begins asking questions the centaur’s background. Most questions aren’t that bad, since this is someone of child services he’s talking about, and he has nothing to hide anyways. It went quite smoothly, until one question caught Colt’s full attention.

“From your background, we found out that you’re a police captain, am I right?” The female cyclops asks.

“Yes, I am.” Colt answers honest.

The female cyclops’ expression looks a bit worried, but she quickly shrugs it off. “Do you understand how dangerous your job is, Mr. Bronco?” She asks.

“Of cours I do.” Colt answers. “Everyday is a risk. Dealing with serial killers, chasing criminals, and sometimes getting into a shoot out are always possible, including the high risk of dying. But I won’t let the kids of my deceased girlfriend fend for themselves.”

The centaur then quickly glances over at Barley, who has an mixed expression that makes it clear that he really didn’t wanna know all that stuff that went on there, as well as; “I told you to let me do it, you donkey!”. Colt can only guess out of fear of losing anyone else.

A few more questions followed, which lasted another half hour, before the interview is over.

“We will call you at the end of the week to tell you our answer.” The female cyclops says, already standing up.

“Thank you.” Colt says, he and the Lightfoot brothers also standing up.

The cyclops and centaur shake hands, saying their goodbyes as they part ways.

“So, we’re gonna have to wait until Friday or Saturday for the result.” Barley says as they walk back to the parking lot where Guinevere the Second is parked.

“Unfortunately, that’s what they said.” Colt answers, rather getting the result a bit earlier.

Barley nods and glances over at Ian, who’s walking as a zombie next to him. The older Lightfoot puts a hand on his little brother’s shoulder, grounding him from his legs giving out and falling flat on his face. Heck, Barley and Colt almost forgot the 16 year old was even with them because of how quiet he was and still is.

The 19 year old pulls out the car keys of Guinevere the Second, and opens the van for them to enter. Both Ian and Colt step in the back, one because of sleep, and the other because he doesn’t really fit in the passenger seat.

Barley gets in as well, but when he’s about to close the car door, he hears someone yell something in their direction.

“Hey! Where’s that magic kid? Our school isn’t done yet!” Yells a adult male voice who obviously works at Ian’s school.

This sets the oldest Lightfoot off, furious at the fact that that adult only sees Ian as someone that does all the work, not caring about the kid’s health or well-being what so ever.

“Get someone else to do it!” Barley yells back, not caring about a reply as he slams the car door next to him shut.

It makes the 19 year old think back to that heartbreaking moment in Ian’s room, where he broke, the death of their mother finally setting in his brain.

It was awful...

~•~

Having carefully opened the door with one hand while carrying his little brother with his other arm, Barley stepped into Ian’s room, which is far more organized then his if he’s being honest.

The older brother had only taken one step to the younger’s bed when he felt Ian’s body scare jump, which half awakened him. Barley looked at his little brother to see if he was alright when he saw thick tears burned in Ian’s eyes, rolling down his face instantly.

“Mom is dead...” he choked out, the lump in his throat getting bigger and bigger. “Mom is dead...”

To Barley, it became crystal clear that Ian had another nightmare about their mom’s death, only to wake up in the aftermath of that same nightmare, that’s unfortunately reality. But this time, the reality of the situation set in Ian’s brain, and it broke him.

The 16 year old began to sob louder, which soon led to crying, almost weeping. He hide his face in his big brother’s chest, not wanting to look at anyone.

Barley quickly made his way to Ian’s bed and put him on there, settling himself on the edge of the bed and immediately wrapping his arms around his devastating brother.

“Shhh, it’s okey. Just let it all out.” Barley said, attempting to sooth Ian a little. The older brother didn’t want to admit it, but seeing the younger like this kinda scared him.

He had never, absolutely never, seen Ian react this extreme to something. It is so unlike him. But maybe Barley shouldn’t be surprised, since his little brother has so much on his plate right now. School, as well as rebuilding the entire school building has been exhausting for him, and he isn’t even done yet. Not to mention that Ian wasn’t even fully awake yet.

And the cherry on to of the cake? Their mother’s death...

Both boys knew that defeating the dragon would leave them with much work, but having lost their mom made it so much worse for them.

Especially for Ian.

“I-I don’t wanna be alone...” he choked out, followed by a few sobs. “Please...”

It made Barley think back to the conversation they had with Colt just a few minutes ago, who told them he’ll try and fight for custody of them, Ian has most likely only heard the first few sentences before drifting off to sleep again, more specifically about him being put into foster care or up for adoption.

“Hey, Ian, look at me.” Barley said, wanting his younger brother to hear the next sentences crystal clear. Ian slowly pulls away from the hug and looks at the older elf, his face all covered in tears. “You aren’t gonna be alone, because Colt is gonna be there for us. He said he’ll fight for custody of us, and he will.” A bit of stress washed away from Ian as he hears this, as well as feeling his big brother’s comforting hand on his shoulder. “Everything is gonna be okey.”

Another chunk of worry, fear and stress washed away on Ian’s shoulders. A smile sketched on his face before he pulls Barley into a second hug, quietly sobbing.

Barley returned the hug, feeling a bit better knowing that his baby brother feels a bit better as well, as well as knowing that everything is going to be okey.

~•~

Snapping out of his thoughts, Barley turns his head around to see if Colt and Ian are in the back. And yep, they are.

“We’re in. Don’t go over the speed limit, or I’ll give ya a ticket without hesitation.” Colt says jokingly, yet also serious.

“Sir, yes sir!” The 19 year old says, doing a mini salute again. He then turns to the wheel and starts up Guinevere the Second.

Barley perfectly knows that Colt would have driven if he knew how everything worked in Guinevere the second. Maybe he’ll teach the centaur that someday, but for now, he better drive strictly to the rules.

The 19 year old pulls the van out of the parking lot and drives of in home’s direction.

•+•

The end of the week has eventually arrived. It felt like it took forever for the centaur and elf brothers.

It happend on Friday. Colt just got home from work when he receives a call.

He checks the caller ID, and once he sees it is child services, he immediately picks up.

“With Bronco.” He says, always starting off a phone conversation like that.

“Good evening Mr. Bronco.” A female voice greets, which most likely belongs to the cyclops who interviewed him.

“Oh, good evening Mrs. Windeye.” Colt greets back.

“Mr. Bronco, we have about you bid for custody for Ian and Barley.”

And that’s when Colt can feel his heart beating faster out of nervousness. Is this gonna be good news? Bad news? In-between? Wait, no, that can’t be the case.

God, it nearly felt like a hour before the cyclops speaks again.

“We have good news for you, your bud for custody is accepted.”

The centaur let out a breath he didn’t know he has been holding, feeling relived hearing the news.

“Thanks for telling me the news.” Colt says, not knowing what else to say. “So, what’s next?”

“We will give you the date and time when the trail will take place. The judge will ask you some questions about your you, profession and job.”

Huh, again...

“If everything goes as planned, you’ll be able to sign the papers the same day.” The cyclops says lastly.

“I’ll be prepared.” Colt says, understanding everything the cyclops has told him. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Mr. Bronco.”

The centaur hangs up, and a wave of relieve hits him right after. He can’t help but smile as the news Mrs. Windeye just told him sinks in.

“And?” Colt hears Barley’s voice ask from on the stairs. The centaur walks to the stairs, and sees the Lightfoot brothers hanging around there, most likely having listened to the conversation. “What did they say?”

A smile returns to the centaur’s face, basically saying everything.

“They accepted.”

Expressions of disbelief appear on the brother’s faces, but they quickly turn into ones of relieve and happiness.

“Yes!” Barley cheers, getting fully downstairs, to which a actual-awake Ian soon follows. “Let’s celebrate this grand solution!”

Colt nods, still not over the fact that child services had accepted his bid, and that the boys are basically gonna be his (step)sons.

This was indeed a grand solution.


	2. The Great “Thank You”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ian and Barley have made their own (Emotional) way of saying “thank you” to their new legal guardian.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Since I don’t have an editor, if you see a _ between sentences, that means that there’s something written.)
> 
> Take a guess which scene from which Pixar film this is inspired by :)
> 
> Enjoy!

The ride back home from your quite dangerous job as an captain of the police force is nothing new for Colt. He has done it for at least 2 decades. And so he knows that some rides back home are just...tough.

And this ride is one of them.

The centaur has his attention on the road, yet his mind is somewhere else, more specifically on what happend today.

He along with a team of officers where send to rescue a 15 year old elf girl, who got kidnapped by a guy who’s pretty familiar to them. Despite catching then in the (obviously one-sided) act, the mission went as planned, and they arrested the guy. The girl had to be brought to a hospital to be examined for any potential STD’s and more. The centaur later got informed by Specter that the girl also had bruises and other wounds all over her body, along with a Genital Herpes diagnoses.

Colt can still see the uncomfortable look Specter made after she had told him that.

He shrugs off the events of today, needing to focus on the road. He’s almost home anyways.

Speaking of which, it has been around a month since the centaur officially took custody of Ian and Barley, and they’re doing better now. 

The three of them have been going to group therapy to cope with Laurel’s loss, and it actually works. They still have a long way to go, but it is at least a start.

And Barley and him had finally, oh finally dragged Ian to a hospital to check his leg. Turned out that it got sprained, and the fact that the 16 year old had been standing on it for at least a week didn’t make it any better. So the doctor got him a leg brace and advised the elf boy that he must wear it for a few months.

So that’s solved in some way.

Colt then notices the red roof of his home, as well as the driveway. He drives, and parks his car there, in front of the garage.

He’s finally home.

The centaur gets out of his car and makes his way to the front door, opening it and stepping in.

“Boys, I’m home!” He calls out, letting Ian and Barley know that he’s home.

“Great!” Colt can hear Barley cheer from upstairs, making his way downstairs seconds later, soon followed by Ian. “You won’t mind if Ian and I are away for a few hours, right? Sure, it’s around 10 PM, but I’ll make sure nothing bad is going to happen.”

“I’d rather not have that.” The centaur answers honest. “It’s not that I don’t trust you two, just...just not at this hour.” 

Colt had witnessed and dealt with so many murders and other cases in the middle of the night, half of them involving between Ian and Barley’s ages. And combine that with today’s case doesn’t make it any better.

The elf brothers look at each other for a moment, then back at Colt, their expressions turning into sympathetic ones. Both boys don’t know how hard the job of a police captain is, but they know it’s already hard enough.

“Don’t worry, Colt. We understand.” Barley says, while Ian nods in agreement. “We’re just glad you survived the day again.”

The centaur can’t help but crack a smile, hearing himself how much the boys care about him.

“We will be upstairs if you need us.” Barley says, as he and Ian walk to the stairs again. “Ian already warmed something up for you for dinner.” He says lastly, before he disappears to upstairs.

Colt looks at the direction the boys went to, and then turns to the dinner table, revealing a plate with just-warmed up meat and vegetables, as well as a...book?

The centaur went to sit at the table, in front of his plate of warm food. He picks the book up with both hands, and analyzes it.

_For Sir Colt Bronco._ is written in big letters with blue ink on the front, under it featuring a well made drawing of the centaur’s head, this time with red ink. The book itself isn’t really that wide, around 6 pages or so.

Curious on what this is about, Colt turns the page around, revealing the Lightfoot family photo that was made when Wilden was still alive and before Ian was born.

The page on the right reveals the family photo after Ian was born, which means Wilden had already died. Colt can’t help but smile, seeing his three favorite persons in world so happy, all though there’s still a little sadness in him knowing that Laurel isn’t here anymore.

He turns the page around again, revealing that one family photo that Laurel took with him and the boys. It looks quite good, despite Ian looking uncomfortable and Barley looking grumpy as frick. Both of them are aware of that as well, seeing that Barley wrote: _*Insert happy faces here*_ in red ink.

Colt takes a break for a moment, eating a few peaces of his meat and vegetables before it becomes cold. Huh, he won’t really be surprised if Ian takes a job as a waiter or cook in The Manticore’s traven. It kinda suits him too.

Back to the photo album thing, the next page on the right has two photos of him and Laurel. One was when they went on their second date, and the other was when the two of them went on a nature walk.

The centaur can’t help but get a little emotional by thinking of these memories, especially knowing that the second one was just from two months ago.

Colt turns the page for the last time, and he smiles at the last photo he sees in the book.

The photo is of him, Ian and Barley, standing in New Mushroomton like where the first photo in the book was taken. The three of them smiled, but both elves and the centaur know that they’re forced ones.

It still looks perfect though.

The page on the right however, doesn’t have a photo, but rather a message.

_Thank you_ is written on the last page in blue ink. _for everything you did for us. Now, let us do something for you too._ The words are this time written in red ink. _Love, Ian and Barley._ is the last sentence, as well as a nice sketch of both the boys heads (Barley’s in red ink, and Ian’s in blue).

Colt can’t take his eyes off of the message, reading it over and over and over again. He cracks a smile, eyes tearing up out of happiness.

He eats again, chewing his food while looking at the last photo of the album Ian and Barley made for him.

Tomorrow, he’ll confront the two brothers about this. Tomorrow, he’ll give them the biggest hug imaginable. But for now, Colt is gonna enjoy his evening with his warm meal and the sweet memories that the photos in his Thank You present give.


End file.
